2 minute read
Embracing technology
Sherborne Girls sets out to nurture and inspire a vibrant community of fulfilled, inquisitive, confident young women who are thoroughly prepared to enter higher education, and for their future lives, with the knowledge to make a difference.
Ensuring every girl is comfortable and confident with digital technology, appreciating its importance and the opportunities it affords, is a fundamental part of our vision and aim to develop the future generation of 21st Century women.
In 2019, we committed fully to developing our Digital Strategy. All of our teachers were provided with a Microsoft pen-enabled device and we engaged a training company to spend a week at School supporting every teacher to enhance their teaching through the use of Microsoft OneNote and penenabled technology. We subsequently appointed two Digital Leaders, supported by eight Digital Champions, to drive our digital strategy forward, and implemented regular staff training sessions with IT professionals.
The move to pen-enabled devices and collaborative software such as OneNote and Teams not only changed the impact of the education offered but made it more adaptable to individual needs and allowed teachers and pupils to interact with each other more effectively. It facilitated improved teacher feedback, quality use of prep time, individual organisation and immediate access to resources to add interest and experiences to classroom teaching and efficient use of class time.
When lockdown first occurred in March 2020, we were therefore well placed and prepared for the transition from traditional to remote learning. Our teachers and pupils felt comfortable and confident with the shift and we were very proud of the positive feedback we received from parents, pupils and staff. teaching and learning. We have engaged a Learning Technologist to help us develop and refine our digital offering further, inspire staff in the use of technology across the School, and investigate new ways technology can be used to improve and transform learning.
Initially, we set out to shift the conversation from the Digital Champions to Heads of Department who best understand the individual strengths and needs of their team. A whole-staff survey provided further clarity on individual use of technology, comfort level and skill gaps, which in turn helped identify and prioritise appropriate support. Training sessions have become departmental priorities delivered at a team or individual level.
From a pedagogical perspective, there was interest in low or no-prep formative assessment tools for engaging pupils during live, blended or remote teaching. We are encouraging the girls to be more active participants in the feedback process, responding to personalised comments, which the teacher annotates while recording spoken explanations. We are also exploring bespoke projects such as mixed reality in biology, collaborative creative writing in English and using the model of a head to create binaural soundscapes in drama!
THE LAST SIX MONTHS HAVE MADE IT EVEN MORE IMPORTANT FOR OUR STAFF AND GIRLS TO DEVELOP THEIR SKILLS OF COMMUNICATION, COLLABORATION AND TEAMWORK.
Our digital strategy underpins all of these developments and continues to be a priority as we embrace technology to drive a culture of learning at Sherborne Girls.
Louise Orton, Senior Deputy Head (Academic) and Steve Morgan, Learning Technologist.
Steve Morgan was appointed as our ‘Learning Technologist’ for this term. Prior to this, he was Head of Technology for Learning at Tanglin Trust School in Singapore for nine years and is now an independent educational technology consultant and trainer based in the UK. 02
